Road to UFC tournament winner Hyun-Sung Park stayed undefeated with a knockout over Shannon Ross at UFC Vegas 83.
The undefeated Japanese fighter Park was heavily favored heading into the bout, as he looked like a potential future contender while Ross had lost both of his UFC fights and his DWCS fight by knockout. The Australian wanted to turn things around in this fight, but it was not to be.
The fight began with Park popping Ross with jabs and low kicks while Ross sought pocket combinations. Park soon clipped him with a clean right hand that put Ross on skates. But Ross came back and knocked Park off-balance, putting him on his butt with a punch. Ross was soon again falling backwards himself, this time he hit the ground. Park jumped on top and took the back while smashing down elbows. With a body-triangle in, Park was able to hunt for a rear-naked choke for the next half of a round. Ross rolled repeatedly to escape but Park did not let him go. Hyun-Sung Park almost got the choke in a half dozen times but Ross fought him off each time and survived to the end of the round.
The second round started with Ross advancing behind strong combinations but Park stood tall and found his own shots to get off the fence. Park then backed Ross up to the fence with good footwork and popped the Aussie with a clean left hook that rocked him. Park clinched up to land knees and short elbows but Ross defended well and found time to recover. Ross held his own but Park had an advantage on the feet from there on out. Ross seemed as though he was going to make it to the third round but a front kick to the body drew a reaction from him and proved to be the beginning of the end. Park followed up with two left hooks to the same spot on the body which folded Shannon Ross like warm blankets. Only a few ground strikes were required to finish the bout from there.
With his first UFC win post-Road to UFC and his first knockout with the promotion, Hyun Sung Park is on a hot run at flyweight. A fighter that can finish fights on the ground or on the feet in the lighter weight classes is one that will always draw some eyes.
